$26.8M renovation proposed for WHS

WELLS — The Wells-Ogunquit Community School District School Board sought community feedback last week on the $28.65 million proposal to renovate Wells High School before it heads to voters for approval in November.

Comment

By Ann Charlton

seacoastonline.com

By Ann Charlton

Posted Oct. 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Ann Charlton

Posted Oct. 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

WELLS — The Wells-Ogunquit Community School District School Board sought community feedback last week on the $28.65 million proposal to renovate Wells High School before it heads to voters for approval in November.

During the Wednesday, Oct. 2 public hearing community members shared their thoughts on the proposed renovation and expansion and voters will have their say on the plan during a Nov. 5 referendum vote in Wells and Ogunquit.

"We have a great history at Wells," said WHS Principal Jim Daly, who said the building design reflects that history and incorporates it into the new building. The school was built in 1977 and has numerous safety and compliance issues that need to be addressed, he said.

With large numbers of community members who come out to support the students at sporting events, concerts, and plays, Daily said the new facility is about "celebrating the pride of this community."

"It's about tradition and pride," he said.

If voters support the plan in November, the building committee anticipates an August 2014 start date for construction. The new academic wing would be complete in January of 2016 with a project completion date targeting September 2016. While the new academic wing is being built, the existing classroom space will be used. That space will then be demolished once the new academic wing is open.

For Ogunquit residents, the project would mean an increase of $49 per $100,000 of valuation per year. For taxpayers in Wells, the tax increase will be $61 per $100,000 of valuation.

These figures show the highest year of the bond repayment, which is the most a taxpayer would see for the renovations and expansion of WHS. Every year the 20 year bond is repaid, the tax impact will slightly decrease.

During the public hearing, residents watched a video of students, faculty, and staff talking about the changes needed at WHS. One teacher remarked "the building is holding them back." A student talked about trying to eat lunch in the cafeteria, which she said was crowded, loud, and due to space issues causes a lot of people to have to sit outside to eat.

Another staff member discussed the problem with bandwidth and accessing WiFi in the school, saying the school is not wired for modern technology.

"We are falling further and further behind," he said.

A student was shown in the restroom of the boys' locker room and said that the football team only has one toilet. A girl in the girls' locker room said they have two stalls but usually one is broken. She said there are often 100 girls crowded in the small locker room and running around trying to find a bathroom.

A building for the future

Ron Lamarre from Lavallee Brensinger Architects, the firm chosen to design the renovation and expansion plans, told the audience at the public hearing that the renovation plans allow for flexibility and adaptability for the building to be able to evolve.

Lamarre said areas to be renovated include the existing cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium. A new addition will be added as educational space and classrooms will open up to a learning commons which Lamarre said was designed based on input from students. The learning commons will have areas where small groups can meet and gather as well as larger lockers that allow for more storage of books and electronics and the area will also have a place for students to charge their electronic devices.

"The entire space has been student inspired," Daly said.

He talked about allowing students the flexibility to not necessarily be in school from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Daly gave the example of a student that needed to go out and lobster in the morning and was able to come in later in the school day and complete all of his work. Daly said it allowed for "a virtual school," so the day that student graduates he can go out and be a lobsterman.

Daly talked about the lack of space for student run organizations as well as the inability to have the entire school in the auditorium. During a performance in that space, he said half the audience can't see their son or daughter on stage because of the current design.

The new auditorium would have enough seating to accommodate the entire school and for kids interested in the arts the space would be "their Super Bowl."

Lamarre said the new facility would be designed to be changed if necessary, such as with heating and electrical systems. Lamarre said that while solar panels and geothermal units are too costly now to justify putting them into the design, the design is planned so that when the prices of these systems decrease, adding solar panels or a geothermal heating system will be easy and affordable.

Tim Roche, a faculty member, coach and town selectman, said "if we try to teach our Warrior pride which we do every day here, we need to take pride in our facility just as much as we take pride in our teams."

WHS has a five-year review coming up with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Daly said, and if there is not a timeline on how to handle deficiencies and start completing some of the needed projects, "we will not get our accreditation."

In 2009, NEASC conducted an extensive review of the school in order to determine accreditation status and while WHS was given its accreditation, Daly said it was also given notice that the accreditation had a warning status.

The report listed 18 deficiencies with the facility and asked for a long-range plan for how to address the facility needs. Deficiencies included the limited space available in both classrooms as well as the arts department, outdated science labs, insufficient technology fitting the needs of today, lack of electrical outlets, water leaks, mold problems, indoor temperature fluctuations, metal sticking out of the gym floor, and general overcrowding issues.

In January of 2012 Wells Fire Department Chief Daniel Moore sent a letter to WHS noting many similar concerns as the NEASC's 2009 report. In addition, Moore noted additional safety concerns including the lack of a sprinkler system, lack of accessibility for emergency crews in the event of an fire, insufficient water supply, and ADA accessibility issues.

Community member Mike Cannon spoke at the hearing and was concerned that the general community does not have enough information to vote yes for the bond.

He asked what would happen if the referendum did not pass.

Co-chair of the building committee, Zak Harding, said that the estimated bare minimum for repairs to the boilers, indoor air quality, and technology upgrades is estimated to be between $8 to $12 million.